Ainsworth, 37, led in the polls and in fundraising as he sought his first statewide office. He began his political career with election to the Alabama House in 2014. He knocked off seasoned politician Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, the president of the Alabama Public Service Commission, in the Republican runoff for lieutenant governor.

The office of lieutenant governor has been vacant since Kay Ivey moved up to replace Robert Bentley in the governor’s office on April 10, 2017. Both candidates said that helped increase voter interest in the race.

“THANK YOU, ALABAMA,” Ainsworth tweeted at 10:41 p.m. on the night of his win. “Kendall and I are incredibly grateful for your support, well wishes and prayers over the lifetime of this campaign. I’m excited and eager to get to work serving you. Because of you, together, we’re starting A New Day for Alabama!”

Boyd, 47, sought the lieutenant governor’s office after losing races for Congress in 2016 and the U.S. Senate in 2017.

Both candidates have a background in ministry, with Boyd serving as a minister and bishop at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Florence and Ainsworth working as a youth minister before founding the Tennessee Valley Hunting and Fishing Expo.

Ainsworth’s campaign focused on education, including supplying technology and achieving reliable connectivity in rural Alabama, advocating increased funding in poverty-ridden areas of the state and supporting the Alabama Sentry Program that allows teachers to have a firearm on school grounds after having training and certification.

Boyd advocated more funding for education and better preparing students to enter the workforce. He also called for better mental health care in prisons and doing a better job helping people transition from prison to a stable environment.